Market Street

Cutting southwest across San Francisco from The Embarcadero, Market Street is one of the city's major thoroughfares. It starts in front of the Ferry Building at the northeastern edge of the city and runs through downtown, passing the Financial District, Union Square, down to Civic Center and the Castro District, and to the intersection with Corbett Avenue in the Twin Peaks neighborhood.

On the south side of the street, close to the bay, is SoMA (South of Market Street), which is filled with fancy loft residences, restaurants, and nightclubs, as well as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Yerba Buena Gardens. On the north side of the street is the Union Square shopping hub and downtown attractions. The best way to see this bustling street is to jump on the F-Market antique streetcars, which run along Market Street as well as the Embarcadero.

Practical Info

Buses and streetcars share the street with cars, while below the street runs the underground Market Street Subway. While cable cars no longer operate on Market Street, the surviving cable car lines terminate to the side of the street at its intersections with California Street and Powell Street.